Albums of the Month: April

By Zach Zollo

Throughout the world, April 2020 was a lost month. The pandemic we are currently facing has brought out the worst in people as often as it has forced us to unite together, leading many to be frightened for the state of the world once we recover. Things, simply put, just keep getting worse.

But, on the artistic bright side, it was a STELLAR month for music all across the spectrum. 

Fiona Apple told us to fetch the bolt cutters, The Strokes' "new abnormal" turned out to be making music not indebted to Is This It, Westside Gunn dropped his best project yet (featuring a cover from Caravaggio), and Walter Etc. released the best breakup album I've ever heard. On top of all that, here are the best releases from the month that we didn't get the chance to formally review. 

Lovesick - RICEWINE

I was first exposed to Melbourne’s RICEWINE through receiving his debut album, Today, from Spirit Goth’s Cassette Club. I was intrigued by it’s fusion of lo-fi hip hop and dream pop - similar to Minnesota’s Vansire - yet felt it needed more development. On Lovesick, that development has manifested in satiating ways, creating an album with a mixtape-like flow and universal accessibility. By adding R&B and freestyle into the mix, Talae Rodden crafts a sound that’s sultry and smooth, irresistibly groovy and meant for warm-weather blunt rotations. With noteworthy features from Aira and GUS, Lovesick will inevitably be the soundtrack to the summer, but start listening to it now - it’s the happiness you need to make quarantine bearable. 

Sister - Ultraísta 

Confession: I think Radiohead is overrated as hell. Or, more specifically, the only reasons I enjoy the band can be attributed to Nigel Godrich’s production and studio touches. Godrich’s own band, Ultraísta, dropped their second LP Sister in March, and it’s one of the most serenely produced, intricately textured, and enticingly rhythmic electronic albums you will hear this year. The colorful synths and Afro-Caribbean percussion are certainly highlights, but it's Laura Bettinson’s diaphanous vocals that will stick with you most. 

Mas Amable - DJ Python

Speaking of great electronic albums, the new record from DJ Python threw me for a loop, as I normally don’t enjoy records of this ilk. But the textures of this record, the subtlety of the arrangements, the depth of the groove, and the seamless transitioning from track to track, make this an IDM album that’s equal parts meditative as it is spiced by reggaeton. 

Songs For Pierre Chuvin - The Mountain Goats

John Darnielle takes us back to his lo-fi roots, breaking out the boombox for an excellent collection of songs themed around Pierre Chuvin’s A Chronicle of the Last Pagans, a book detailing the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Highlights include “Until Olympus Returns,” “January 31, 438” and “Their Gods Do Not Have Surgeons.” 

Heaven To A Tortured Mind - Yves Tumor

I was initially hesitant towards Yves Tumor, simply for the fact that one of my friends said “he sounds like EVERYTHING” in a more off-putting than convincing way. While I wouldn’t say the music is genreless, I will say that it’s fusion of disparate influences - indie rock, British soul, electronica and heavily compressed psychedelia - produces a Russian doll effect, where the more you open up, the closer you get to seeing Tumor’s core as a singer, songwriter and musician. Recommended for fans of indie rock with an welcomingly experimental edge. 

Ivy - Charmer

Hailing from the U.P. of Michigan, DIY/emo mainstay Charmer have streamlined their twinkly arrangements into lean, mean, pop punk machine. The increased production quality contributes to this greatly, and while the lyrics have progressed only slightly, the arrangements and performance once again prove that the band are just as instrumentally charming as their name suggests. Highlights include “Slumber,” “Wolf Fang Fist,” and “VCR 666.”

Crush - Day Wave

The latest four-song EP from Oakland, CA’s Day Wave just so happens to contain three of my favorite songs from this year. A synth-accented dream pop collection with a 13-minute runtime, it’s the blissful shot of serotonin you need right now. 

Agitpop Alterna - Peel Dream Magazine

One third My Bloody Valentine, one third Stereolab, and one third mid-90s Yo La Tengo, Peel Dream Magazine’s Agitpop Alterna could very well be the segue needed for an entry-level alternative fan to get into the DIY underground. But this album isn’t merely early alternative worship - when you peel back the layers, you’ll find an album of cheeky references towards the prevailing attitudes of our time. Highlights include “It’s My Body,” “NYC Illuminati,” and “Too Dumb.”

I Feel Alive - TOPS

The new record from Montreal’s TOPS is a slick collection of sunkissed indie pop, with a heavy dose of soft rock to make the songs glisten with a sheen that would make Stevie Nicks proud. With highlights including “I Feel Alive,” “Pirouette” and “OK Fine Whatever,” TOPS currently stands as my favorite indie-yacht of the year.